Malaysia’s acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein has promised families of those on board that the search will continue (Picture: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Search planes have spotted new debris in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and two ships have now entered the new search zone.

Authorities moved efforts to a new search zone yesterday after finding credible new evidence to suggest the plane had been travelling at a different speed than first thought.

Chinese military aircraft reported seeing three suspicious white, red and orange objects in the area 1,150 miles to the west of Perth.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) announced yesterday the search area for missing flight MH370 has shifted closer to the Western Australian Coast (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Hopefully some of the ships in the area will be able to start picking it up and give us an indication of what we were seeing,’ explained New Zealand air force lieutenant Leon Fox.

The Chinese navy vessel Jinggangshan, which carries two helicopters, reached the new search area early on Saturday and will be on the lookout for plane surfaces, oil slicks and life jackets.

Foreign reporters and television crews wait in anticipation for news at a RAAF air base in Perth (Picture: Jason Reed/Reuters)

As the search for the Boeing 777 enters its fourth week, authorities have been increasingly frustrated by a series of false dawns over sightings of debris.

‘Multiple objects of various colours’ were spotted by international flight crews yesterday but so far none has been recovered by ships.

A woman holds a sign saying ‘Dear husband, please come back home! What would I and our child do without you?’ as she and other relatives stage a protest in Beijing (Picture: AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

Meanwhile, investigations into what actually happened on board have been fruitless with no apparent motive or other red flags among the 227 passengers or the 12 crew.

The families of those who were on board continue to stage protests in the Chinese capital Beijing and have accused Malaysian authorities of ‘delays and deception’.